Ahmedabad: What began as a minor episode — a collision between a car driven by a 60-year-old man and a motorcycle — spiralled instantly into a horrific incident with the enraged men on the bike raining blows on the retired Gujarat Housing Board (GMB) employee, leading to his death. The Sola High Court police arrested two 20-year-old men in connection with the death of Alpesh Mehta, 60, a resident of Chandlodia, following a road rage near the Gota Prasang Party Plot Crossroads at around 10.30pm on Thursday. Mehta was driving his car when it had a minor collision with a motorcycle near the crossroads. According to the complaint filed on Friday by Mehta’s son, Harit Mehta, 32, a resident of Shela, the two men, later identified as Amit Vaghela and the pillion rider Keval Vaghela, got enraged after the accident. They allegedly rained blows on the 60-year-old leaving him badly injured. The son in his complaint stated, “On Thursday around 11pm, I was at my home in Shela when I received a call from my sister Ushma, informing me that someone was arguing and fighting with my father and that he was being taken to Sola police station. She asked me to reach there, so I left my home and, upon reaching Pakwan Crossroads, my brother-in-law Sameer called me to inform me that my dad has been taken from Sola police station to Sola Civil Hospital for immediate treatment, and you should go there.”The complainant stated that when he inquired about the incident he was informed by his sister that one Janardan Patel who was present at the crime scene informed them that at around 10.30pm near the Prasang Party Plot Crossroads in Gota, my father had a minor accident with his car and a motorcycle. During this time, the two men started using foul language towards my father and broke the driver’s side window of the car. Both of them began hitting my father on the face, head, and chest with punches, causing him to bleed from the mouth and nose.“Janardan had intervened and called the police control room. After which the three were taken to the police station and later Alpesh was shifted to Sola Civil for treatment. Sola police inspector K N Bhukhan said that the murder was a fallout of the minor incident, and both the accused were arrested. There was no other motive for the murder, he said.The Sola police registered a case under BNS sections 103(1) (murder), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 324(2) (mischief), and 54 (abettor present when offence is committed) against Amit Vaghela and Keval Vaghela.Police said that Amit, a resident of Ghatlodia, originally belonged to Kansa village in Patan district, and Keval Vaghela, also a resident of Ghatlodia, was from Anand district.Police said both were working on a contract basis with the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s Sola ward in dead-animal disposal work. Amit was employed for about 2 months, and Keval joined just before the fortnight.
